1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cross-cut corrugated food product and to a method and apparatus for forming a cross-cut corrugated food product.
2. Description of the Background Art
Snack food products having a wavy or corrugated configuration have been commercially manufactured and sold. One such product, which has met with some commercial success, is the corrugated potato chip, in which corrugations on each side of the chip are "in-phase", i.e., the ridges on one side of the chip directly overlie valleys on the opposite side, so that the thickness of the chip is substantially uniform throughout.
Snack foods having corrugations which are "out-of-phase" have also been known. These products have corrugations wherein the ridges on one side overlie ridges on the other side which results in a periodic variation in thickness, but the frequency of the occurrences of the different thicknesses remains substantially uniform. Such out-of-phase corrugated snack foods, when subjected to the cooking or frying process, have a variety of texture and flavor characteristics due to the different cooking rates of the various thicknesses. However, there is no variation in the percentages of occurrences of the different thicknesses. Furthermore, such "out-of-phase" products have a tendency to break at their weakest locations, namely, the areas of the oppositing valleys in the corrugations.
Criss-cross or cross-cut snack foods are also known in the art. Such products have parallel corrugations on each surface, but the corrugations on one surface are at an angle relative to those on the other surface. Such "cross-cut" products not only have a variation in thicknesses, but unlike "out-of-phase" products, the frequency of occurrences of the different thicknesses also varies, that is to say, there is a variation in the percentages of occurrences of the different thicknesses. A cross-cut snack product has variations in texture and flavor characteristics and is relatively more durable than "out-of-phase" products since there are no continuous linear mating valleys which result in weak areas. A variation of the cross-cut snack product is the so-called "lattice" cut chip. In a "lattice" chip, the corrugations on one surface of the product intersect with the corrugations on the opposite surface of the product, resulting in a perforated chip. Cross-cut snack food products have also met with consumer approval.
Known devices to produce cross-cut corrugations generally require rotation of a vegetable between slicing steps, and thus have one or more disadvantages such as requiring excess maintenance, high capital costs, and the like. Examples of known cross-cut devices are shown in expired U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,965,500 and 1,965,501 to Knott.
There remains a need in the art for a relatively simple, low cost method and apparatus for producing a snack food product, particularly one made from farinaceous material, in which the food product has cross-cut corrugations.